Of all the things you can make from scratch, a gift bow seems like a giant waste of time, doesn't it? I mean, who really has the energy to top every present with a homemade bow? Answer: me. A mom of three who also works full-time. And you can do it too. In fact, it is one of the easiest, most original, handiest things you can do when you're a busy mom.

Why?

You're never without a bow! Last Saturday my husband and I found ourselves two hours away from a birthday party with no wrapping paper or ribbon on hand. So what did we do? We decorated some butcher paper with markers, folded a card from printer paper, and made our own bow. It looked SO much better than the store-bought kind and only took about five minutes to complete. Here is how we did it: